A Memorable 40th Birthday for My Husband

This is a picture of my Sweetheart at around age 4, who turned 40 this past month. Isn’t he the cutest?? (Now you know where our kids’ adorableness comes from.) Jer said that this is the time of his life getting to enjoy his kids! He is our world and the rock of our family, and such a man deserves the best for this milestone birthday—just wasn’t sure how… Should I throw a big party with lots of people and a crazy theme (Vintage 80’s or Seinfeld, anyone?)? He’s not really into big parties.. Should I spend a ton of $ on a Big Gift? He has been admiring many big items, but these were long-term dreams and we’re determined to live within our means, which happen to be modest right now. With a birthday in the middle of the week of a busy month, he’d be working, going to school, and attending our son’s game with no break in between that day. Lots of logistical limits. I pared it down to what mattered most—celebrating our loved one’s life—and then things came together.

Celebrating Husband’s 40th Birthday

We had a small family dinner “party” for his 40th! His childhood photo served as my inspiration to create a unified theme, the perfect way to break the ice on his invitation, and a simple centerpiece with the rest of the party stuff I already had on hand. Some black and silver table cloths, blue pom poms, blue and black streamers, and gift bags later… tada! I even laid out the blue scrapbook with his baby pictures, soccer and wrestling portraits, the newspaper article from our hometown paper of him receiving his Eagle Scout with his brother, his mission letter, and treasures for all of us to check out. The kids were mesmerized, and I couldn’t help thinking of how he shared all the best parts of his life with our babies. The birthday table ended up looking like a shrine! Haha, but he loved it and felt so special when he came home and it was the first thing he saw.

I made him some delicious food that we only ever eat like once a year because it’s also naughty, and he loved it! Angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream for his birthday cake. He decided on Mississippi Pot Roast for his birthday dinner with a recipe we got from my Dad, and I paired it with egg noodles and roasted veggies. Further proof that, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

I had saved up to get him a big birthday present, and maybe a couple of weeks before his FitBit watch broke. It was about the amount I had saved, and in lieu of his present he decided to replace his watch because he could not even wake up without it… So, the gift also didn’t go according to plan. We did manage to get him something to open that he was really excited about—a new pair of Hawaiian sandals he’s been wanting! His brother is really close to him (they talk most days on his way home), and sent some very thoughtful gifts as well as one of the most thorough messages for him. We spent the time before bed practicing his spinning and trying out the hand massager from his brother.

Words of Affirmation Gift

For my sweetheart’s 40th birthday, I wanted to give him a meaningful gift. His Love Language is Words of Affirmation, so I contacted his loved ones months in advance to gather some to surprise him. I had to sneak some contact info from his phone, or hunt them down on social media! I set up an online form where they could share a memory, encouraging words, and/or a photo for me to include in a slideshow. We have the best loved ones, who were excited to participate took the time to submit something! There were responses from his best friends, old friends, new friends, family friends, friends from work, his old principal, friends from college, friends from his Master’s program, and family. I saved the words from each of our kids and I for the end.

Honestly, I threw the slideshow together an hour before he came home! After dinner, I set up the slideshow on my laptop for him to read at his own pace. He was seriously so surprised! His first reaction was, “These are for my birthday? How did you get these from them?? How did you get a hold of so and so??” It makes sense that his friends and family have a shared sense of humor, so he laughed a lot! And then he got really emotional, and although he’s embarrassed about his Love Language I think he realized that positive words really do affect him. He felt so much love today, and told me it was the best birthday!